So why not take a bold step, and stand with WikiLeaks? The world's largest Internet company taking a clear stand would be huge news, and it would call the bloviating bluff of all the politicians acting out of fear of embarrassment, or worse. The WikiLeaks story may well be, as pointedoutby many, the most important and defining story of the Internet age.

It just might prove to be the smartest PR move Google ever made. (And it could, of course, prove to be the exact opposite). And it looks, so far, like rival Facebook is leaning toward supporting WikiLeaks.

After all, tens of millions of Stieg Larsson readers can't be wrong...and I'm guessing they all see the charges against Assange as driven by more than trumped up sex scandal or politically motivated condemnation. Honestly, Larsson himself could not have written a better potboiler than what's unfolding before us.